Meet Your Advocates

Teri Dreher, RN, CCRN, iRNPA: Chief Advocate and President

Teri, an RN with 36 years of experience, has always been passionate about keeping the patient at the center of the nursing care model. This passion led her to form NShore Patient Advocates, LLC in 2011. NSPA is one of the first organizations of its kind in Chicagoland.

With a background in critical care nursing and home based health care, combined with experience as a cardiovascular nurse clinician, Teri knows the complexities and challenges of obtaining premium quality care, especially in fast-paced hospital settings.

Having worked closely with physicians and ancillary health care team members at some of the country’s premier hospitals, she firmly believes in the principles of positive collaboration and the benefits of improved communication between patients and providers. She is committed to helping patients navigate acute illnesses and reducing the possibility of medical error. She has an eye for spotting details a lay person is unlikely to notice.

Teri is nationally accredited for RN Patient Advocacy through a program affiliated with the University of Arizona School of Nursing. She is a member of two national RN advocacy organizations spearheading this new but fast-growing field. She is a board member of the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants.

For more information, or a no-cost 30-minute initial consultation, please call 312-788-2640 or click here to fill out our online callback request form.

Sibyl M. Yau, MSN, RN

Sibyl has a purpose in life, and that is to help others navigate the healthcare challenges facing their loved ones. She has done this for many people, including her own family amid health crises. It is through supporting these family members that she found her passion and calling: patient advocacy.

Through varied patient care, quality improvement, and cost-containment initiatives, Sibyl developed a deep desire to improve the quality of systems that deliver care and the operations that support them, and the people they are supposed to protect.

Sibyl received her Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing from Loyola University of Chicago. She spent many years working at University of Chicago Medical Center in the Peri-Anesthesia unit, GI Procedure Unit and as the clinician in the Purchasing Department. Sibyl also worked at the University of Illinois Hospital in the GI Procedure Unit and Pulmonary Clinic.

Helping those who need assistance to find their way through a health care crisis or change in health status, to learn about all options available and to improve communication between individuals/family members with all members of the health care team is what Sibyl can do for you.

Carol Harris, RN

Carol has been an RN for over 40 years. She is Board Certified by the ANCC (American Nurses Credentialing Center) in Gerontological Nursing and has held the credential for over 24 years. Her experience runs the gamut of Med-Surg. and Orthopedics to Home Health, providing health education then defining weekend triage RN services for home care. Following her time in home care, she became involved in RN Care Management while working in a community setting, advocating for seniors partnered with a Social Worker. Soon after, Carol assisted in the development of a formal Care Management professional program in a non-profit setting. It was here that further experience was realized in a research opportunity, studying senior exercise benefits and then additional research via examination of a telephonic support system for family caregivers of clients with dementia. These programs, as well as educational information on care management, were presented at professional conferences in Chicago,IL., Philadelphia, PA., Austin, TX, and Orlando, FL. In the last 24 years, Carol has remained involved in complex Care Management with professionals, consolidating health advocacy, resources and recommendations on behalf of clients and families. Carol resides in the northern suburbs of Chicago and can’t wait to start this new position, doing what she does best; caring for others.

Kathryn McIntyre, RN

Kathryn McIntyre is a born and bred Chicagoan. With career history in both holistic nursing and finance, she has a unique ability to evaluate and deescalate complex medical situations. Part of that expertise comes from her work as an ER nurse, a position she started right after getting her nursing license. In her words, she wanted to hone her nursing skills effectively and efficiently, and knew the ER was the place to do so. After years of providing triage and assessments to patients, she went to work for Cancer Treatment Center of America. It was here that Kathryn fell in love with her role as a Nurse Navigator, providing support, empowerment, education, and guidance to patients and their families. She also regularly collaborated with physicians and other multidisciplinary teams to meet patient needs. This experience set her up perfectly for work in patient advocacy. Kathryn has already honed new skills and feels that being a professional patient advocate is a true fit for her.

Kathryn is passionate about empowerment and education, believing that “paying it forward” is vital to success. In fact, all of her role models (Oprah and Billy Corgan to name a couple) embody this philosophy. Her goal now is to pay it forward to clients and their families using her passion to fuel her work. Kathryn has created a scholarship that is now awarded each year at College of Lake County. The DAM Scholarship is awarded to determined, academic moms and is completely donation based. She also attends the monthly Lake County Opioid Initiative meeting, with hopes of changing public perception and reducing the stigma surrounding addiction. Kathryn is certified in holistic and oncological nursing as well as a Reiki Master.

Julie Frentzas, RN

Julie comes to NShore with a wealth of experience in clinical as well as sales and marketing in the healthcare industry. After graduating from Rush University Medical Center with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Julie worked as a nurse at Northwestern Memorial hospital, where she enjoyed treating and caring for her patients. As healthcare began to shift to a more managed-care business model, Julie made an informed professional decision to stay in healthcare but to transition into a sales and marketing role, enabling her to continue helping patients from a different perspective. Julie enjoyed a lengthy and successful career in medical, pharmaceutical and home health care sales and marketing.

Several years ago, Julie felt grateful that her medical background helped her understand and advocate for herself during her own health crisis. That life-changing experience validated why she dedicated herself to a career in health care: to compassionately help others who don’t have the ability, knowledge base or even desire to advocate for themselves and to ensure that they receive the quality of care and education they deserve to make informed medical decisions for themselves.

Julie is a dedicated patient advocate and health care educator who is passionate about helping people find the best solutions to complex medical problems in a way that provides clarity and authenticity. She prides herself in collaboratively working with others and building sincere relationships.

When Julie isn’t working, she spends time with her husband and three children, and her dog as well as with family and friends. Julie (is grateful for) takes pride in the career path she chose because it enables her to give something back and live a meaningful life contributing to society in a small way

Kimberly Anderson, R.N., CNOR

A Registered Nurse for over 27 years, Kim comes to patient advocacy from several pathways. As a certified operating room nurse for many years, she learned quickly that attention to detail is of primary importance in healthcare. Her personal experience with family members and helping them to pursue healthcare options to meet their care needs was an eye-opening experience. She found herself dealing with a variety of issues with family, ranging from serious cardiac disease to memory loss problems, and attempting to attend to these multifaceted needs has helped to lead her to patient advocacy.

While she thoroughly enjoyed her many successful and rewarding years in surgical nursing, her fleeting interactions with her patients and their families left her wanting to nurture more personal connections with people. As a natural “people person”, she has found herself strongly attracted to the field of nursing advocacy. Her excellent communication skills help her to empower people needing guidance to navigate their individual problems and clarify important questions.

Kim is passionate about animals and has a long history with dogs and horses. She is certified in equine assisted learning (EGALA) as well as in Level I Reiki, and is happily owned by three rescue dogs.

Holly Monger, Registered Health Underwriter

Holly is a Registered Health Underwriter and has 30 years experience in the health insurance industry. Holly started her career at Allstate Insurance Company as a Health Claims Examiner. Her career progressed through Claims Administration, Benefits and User Acceptance Testing. She left Allstate as a Regional Group Claims Manager responsible for software testing of the claims payment systems. Her career then turned to the property casualty side as a part-time Business Systems Analyst at Kemper Insurance Company. She also spent time at a small general agency filing all lines of claims incurred by clients.

Holly began insurance consulting in 1992 after realizing her real interests were in health insurance. She has spent the years since using her skills and resources to help countless individuals and companies find resolutions to their difficult insurance situations.

Holly is a licensed Producer in Accident/Health, Life, Fire and Casualty. She maintains her license through continuing education and keeps abreast of legislation through her membership with the National Association of Health Underwriters. Although Holly is licensed to sell all lines of insurance, she chooses not to actively sell any line of insurance. She feels that it would be “a conflict of interest to those clients’ who are looking for an objective opinion.”

Jeryl comes to NShore Patient Advocates with an Associate’s Degree in Merchandising & Marketing from Wilbur Wright Junior College in Chicago, IL, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Human Resource Development from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, IL, and is a Licensed (IL) and Certified Pharmacy Technician. Jeryl has over 20 years of administrative experience in various facets of the Healthcare Industry, has prior work experience as a Marketing Coordinator, and also has over 10 years experience in the Banking/Financial Industry. Amongst the many duties Jeryl holds are billing and payroll for the staff. Jeryl enjoys working in an administrative support setting, and is here to assist with questions or concerns you may have.

Bettina Carlson, Senior Executive Assistant

Bettina Carlson is NShore’s first official Senior Executive Assistant, and is enthusiastic, positive, and hardworking. Originally from Germany, Bettina says she’s thrilled to be able to raise her kids in Illinois, feeling that Midwesterners are great people. The values shared here, she says, are like the values she was raised on in Germany. These same values fuel her passion for helping those in need.

Bettina brings a unique perspective to understanding healthcare. After overcoming hurdles while caring for her own father in Germany, she realized that when it comes to healthcare, some unfortunate truths are universal. Whether here in the US, or across the world, medical staff are overworked and understaffed. And for people like her father, who has dementia but is still relatively healthy, nothing can replace quality companionship and personal advocacy. With an educational background in American studies, political science, and cultural anthropology, she is well equipped to understand how communities and systems work. Now, she uses her knowledge of them to do what she does best; help people in need by truly getting to know them. As a personal Senior Executive Assistant, she can provide the same type of assistance to seniors that she would to her own family, whether it be home organizational management, accompanying clients to social outings, or assistance with shopping, doctor appointments and errands, Bettina is one “super helper” you will want on your team!

How we Help

Your dedicated private professional health advocate will protect your right to an accurate diagnosis, help you navigate the healthcare system, and collaborate with your providers to ensure that you receive optimum medical care.

From The NSPA Blog

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